Garment hanger



April 15, 1941. w DRAKE 2,238,519

GARMENT HANGER Filed July 12, 1958 Patented Apr. 15, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE 2,238,519 GARMENT HANGER. Augustus W. Drake, Pasadena, Calif Application July 12, 1938, Serial No. 218,845

6 Claims.

This invention relates to garment hangers and, among other objects, aims to provide an improved hanger for trousers or skirts adapted to grip the cufi; ends of trousers or the waistband portion of a skirt and be suspendedeither from an ordinary coat hanger or from a pole or rod in a closet or to be permanently secured to a shelf or bracket. The idea is to provide a greatly simplified and novel hanger of this type which can be manufactored very economically and which can be employed to. hold pressed trousers or skirts without producing any unsightly creases in them.

Other aims and advantages of the invention will appear in the specification, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l'is a side elevation of the preferred form of hanger;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the hanger shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation illustrating the hanger suspended from an ordinary wire. coat hanger;

Fig. 4 is a similar View illustrating the manner of suspending the hanger from a pole or rod;

Fig. 5. isv a similar view illustrating the manner of securing the hangers to the bottom of a shelf or to a bracket; and

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of Fig. 5.

Referring particularly to the drawing and to the form of hanger selected for illustrative purposes, the improved hanger there shown is made of spring metal conveniently composed of a pair of separate sheet metal strips Ill each bent upon itself to provide gripping fingers or clamps connected by a top or cross piece II and oppositely bent or curved portions 12 producing an opening accommodating or receiving the cuff or waistband portions of trousers and skirts respectively. The lower portion presents opposed gripping faces I3 of substantial area adapted to engage the garments and the extreme lower ends have outwardly flared portions M. The two spring clamps are shown as being connected on opposite sides by metal cross strips I5 conveniently spot welded to the ends of their flared end portions on the outside. However, the strips may be integral with the fingers and the whole hanger formed of one piece. These strips serve as braces to prevent displacement of the lower ends of the gripping fingers and also provide convenient handles to open the hanger when garments are inserted.

The upper ends of the gripping fingers are shown as being connected by a single wire bail it which is bent into a loop or eye I! of sufficient size to enable the hanger to be hung on an ordinary clothes hook or otherwise suspended by a hook, as hereinafter described. The outer ends of the bail member are bent upwardly, being in-. serted through openings in the-cross pieces ll andhave laterally extending hooks 18 at their upper ends. After the ends are threaded through the openings in the cross pieces of the clamps, the bails are suitably fastened to the clamping members, either by making indentations or burrs IS in the wire adjacent to the openings or, conveniently, by spot-welding so that the connection is relatively rigid. Referring to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the central wire loop ll is slightly ofiset rearwardly from a vertical plane through the bight portions of the hooks [B to permit thehooks to. be hung on the cross bar of an ordinary coat hanger 20.

In Fig. 3, a pair of trousers is shown asbeing clamped in the hangers with the cuffs between the outwardly bowed portions i2 and the bail hooks l8 are hung on the cross bar of a wire hanger 2'0 with the loop I'I behind the cross bar.

In Fig. 4 the hanger is suspended from a bar or rod 2| such as is used in a pressing'establishment or as a closet pole. For this purpose, a separable wire hook 22 about the same size as that of an ordinary garment hanger hook is connected to the central loop I! by a small hook 23 at its lower end, so that it can easily be removed or the hanger disconnected from it and the hook left on a closet pole, for example. It will also be understood that the hangers may be suspended directly from the ordinary stationary garment hook by means of the central eye or loop H. y

In Fig. 5, the wire bail is eliminated and the hangers are rigidly connected to the bottom of a shelf or bracket 24. In this instance, the upper cross pieces I I of a series of spaced hanger members are shown as being spot-welded or otherwise secured to a pair of parallel strap metal bars 25 which, in turn, are adapted to be connected to the bottom of the shelf or bracket by suitable securing means, such as screws 25. This arrangement permits a multiplicity of such hangers to be employed in a minimum space and they will hold the suspended garments separated from each other so that they can be readily removed. In this case, the hangers are held stationary so that both hands are left free to guide the garments into the hangers. Further, such hangers may be assembled on wood or metal wall brackets and sold as convenient multiple units.

It will be noted in Figs. 2 and 6 that the gripping portions l3 of the hangers diverge slightly upwardly and are so shaped that when they are sprung apart to grip the garments, they will be practically parallel and provide substantial surface contact with the garment below the cufi or waistband as the case may be.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the improved garment hangers are very simple in their construction and can be manufactured at a relatively low cost. They are especially designed for quantity production by employing well known metal working processes. It is contemplated that they Will be used extensively in pressing establishments as well as households. They are strong and durable and will last almost indefinitely.

Obviously, the present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiments thereof herein shown and described. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly, since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and subcombinations.

What is claimed is:

1. A garment hanger of the class described comprising, in combination, spaced pairs of spring gripping members having outwardly flared lower ends; a single wire bail connecting the upper ends of said members; an eye on the bail midway between the members; and a pair of lateral hooks on the ends of the bail above the members, said eye being offset rearwardly from a vertical plane through the bight portions of said hooks, whereby the hanger may be suspended either from a rod or a clothes hook.

2. A garment hanger of the class described comprising, in combination, spaced pairs of spring gripping members having outwardly flared lower ends; cross braces rigidly connecting the lower end portions of said members on each side serving as a garment guides between gripping ends; a bail rigidly connecting the upper ends of said members; and means on the bail to suspend the hanger.

3. A garment hanger of the class described comprising, in combination, spaced pairs of spring gripping members having outwardly flared lower ends; intermediate and oppositely bowed portions to accommodate trouser cuffs and dress waistbands; brace bars rigidly connecting the lower ends of the members on opposite sides of the hanger; means also rigidly connecting the upper ends of the members; and means above the hanger for suspending it from a rod or hook.

4. A garment hanger of the class described comprising, in combination, a pair of spaced gripping members each made of a single piece of spring sheet metal bent to provide opposed gripping fingers and having an intermediate outwardly bowed portion to accommodate trouser cuifs or skirt waistbands; outwardly bent lower ends on the fingers to guide garments into gripped engagement; means rigidly connecting the members together at their upper and lower ends; and means to suspend the hanger from either a rod or hook.

5. A garment hanger of the class described comprising, in combination, spaced pairs of U- shaped, sheet metal spring gripping members having outwardly flared lower ends and flat upper ends; means securing the upper ends in spaced relation; and sheet metal braces connecting the ends of said members on each side of the bight portion of the hanger.

6. A garment hanger of the class described comprising, in combination, a pair of spaced gripping members each composed of a strip of sheet metal bent U-shaped to form opposed gripping fingers outwardly flared at their lower ends; combined spacer and guide elements connecting the lower ends of the fingers on each side; a heavy wire bail between the upper ends of the gripping members having upwardly bent ends; the upper connecting portions of said fingers having punched-out openings through which said upwardly bent ends are threaded; means rigidly securing said upwardly bent ends to said members; and laterally bent hooks on said upwardly bent ends above said members, whereby the hanger may be hooked on a rod or bar.

AUGUSTUS W. DRAKE. 

